On November 5th, San-ikukai, a hospital in Toyono, Nagano City, has finally resumed part of its outpatient services after AMDA personnel and the hospital staff worked hard to recover the clinic operation hampered by Typhoon Hagibis.
On the day before, the team rehearsed the procedures for the reopening while putting up notices and instructions on the walls and bulletin boards around the hospital.
Day-1:
The clinic hours have been limited to three hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon, mainly consisting of medical consultations and prescription. The “regular” patients from the locality had longed for the reopening as some of them had their medicine run out during the turbulent aftermath. Some said they were relieved to see the doctors and nurses especially after the tough period in which their houses and vegetable fields were flooded. That day alone, 29 people visited the hospital.
A surgeon from a nearby clinic was also on duty during the morning hours. Some patients had actually intended to come to see him, because the fact that his clinic was affected only after one year from completion worried them.
In the afternoon, AMDA nurses and the San-ikukai staff paid a visit to Toyono-Nishi Elementary School, an evacuation site, which AMDA had worked until October 20th. It was in response to an inquiry from Nagano City Health Bureau requesting the dispatch of nurses to evacuation shelters.
For now, the clinic is trying to do all it can to bring the operation back on track.